I can’t stop crying.

Virginia was just called by Faux news for Obama. A state my grandfather saw a black man hung in almost a hundred years ago. A state that hasn’t been blue for 44 years. A state my mother is from. And it has hit me. A State of Grace. A State of Hope. I feel proud of my roots. I’m starting to trust this feeling.

I am an African American in my late 40s and never thought this could every happen, not in my life time. I am crying too here in Virginia. My great, great grandparents were slaves and my great grandparents and grandparents lived in the deep south were they experience a lot of pain and suffering. I grew up in the 60 when MLK Jr was marching with people of all races and religions to rid this country of Jim Crow and other injustices. What those people did for us was not in vain. I thank all of them, Black, White, Jew, and Muslin, etc., who made sacrifices for this day. I am so proud of this country and for the first time in my life I truly feel loved by her.

My Grandfather grew up in Dugger, Indiana, having crosses burned on his front lawn for being a Catholic, yet never batted an eye to show the same prejudice towards others. Honestly, I am pinching myself because I never thought I’d see the day that a black man could be elected…..and its because of people like my grandpa and other extended family members who have such total racism gripping them.

The feeling you describe is pervasive today. We sat in front of the TV with tears in our eyes last night watching the awesome display of the human spirit not totally believing it. I was holding my breath with a vision of the monster that keeps getting up that is so classic in horror movies.

A woman was asked on her way to work this morning on the local Faux station what she felt about the Obama victory. She said something like, “I feel light, right, safe, and protected”. The Fearmongers have loss for the timebeing and it feels so good. What to do now.

One priority can be the opening up of the “Press”. This could start with the coverage of the wars the way they’re using the Bailout Money. Truth and honesty are poison to the NeoCon TV and Radio networks.

A GIGANTIC (Alaska-sized) Thank you to you Shannyn for doing what you do.

A lot of amazing things happened election night, fore sure. Is our country making progress? I believe it is in many areas. However, after we are done riding the euphoric and hopeful waves of change, sit back and look. No politician should get carte blanche. Ask questions and educate yourself on the real issues.
BTW, the real American will be realized when a campaign can be run and no one notices or comments on race, gender, religion, or fashion.
Peace
Griff

I now live in Virginia and stayed up late to watch the results. It was amaizing to watch and especially joyful when Virginia took Obama over the top. You had to be proud to be an American to see the crowds in NYC, Chicago and Washington DC. The Secret Service said they had never seen anything like what happened at the White House after it was release that Obama had won.

As someone who was born in Anchorage but has lived in Virginia for over 2 decades, I was *very* closely watching the numbers as they came in here. I had hoped, hoped, hoped that VA would go blue in ’00 and ’04, but it didn’t.

I was SO DAMN PROUD of my state when I saw that we finally did it — we voted for change and people stepped out of their normal comfort zone to do something amazing. A few moments later the election was called for Obama and that was a sweet moment! I did a happy dance with tears streaming down my face.

I’m a stay-at-home mom of 2, we’re homeschoolers, and we live in a small, conservative, rural community. I’m one of Palin’s so-called “Walmart Women” who has to make money stretch because our family lives paycheck to paycheck. By all the number crunching, I guess McCain and Palin thought they could count me (and others like me) in their column. I am not so easily defined by statistics, though. I’m an out-of-the-box freethinker with unconventional tendencies. I VOTED OBAMA and helped turn Virginia blue!